Drawing, Fall 2012

One of the most daunting challenges artists face is instilling a sense of movement and action into a drawing or painting. Just as artists must conjure a three-dimensional image on a two-dimensional picture plane, they must also create the sense of time passing in a medium that ultimately does not move or change—unlike, say, music, dance, or film.

The artists featured in this issue all have managed to overcome this obstacle and imply a strong sense of motion, action, and life in their work, giving their viewers dynamic, exciting experiences.

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Where to Study DrawingA sponsored guide to some of the best educational programs.

Drawing Fundamentals: Fundamentals of Proportion—The Headby Jon deMartinAccurately capture the head and face at the beginning of your drawing process using these straightforward measuring strategies.

Behind the Scenes: Sketching With Pencil, Paint, and Pixelby Stephen CefaloSketches can serve numerous purposes in an artist’s practice. Here, I break down six ways I use sketches to create artwork.

Adding Excitement & Vigor to Your Figure Drawingsby Dan GhenoLearn how to instill a sense of movement and life in your work, make the most of every drawing session, and stay excited about the process.

Paper, Pencil, and Beyondby Courtney JordanIn the hands of Kiki Smith, one of America’s most prominent artists, drawing is an act that incorporates representation, manipulation, and embellishment, all of which combine to transmit the artist’s creative energy beyond the page.

Mastery on Paperby John A. ParksFor a crash course in some of the highest achievements in the history of drawing, look to a current exhibition of one of the world’s great collections.

Spaces That Hang in the Balanceby Austin R. WilliamsPhyllis Trout takes full advantage of the possibilities of monotype to construct compelling combinations of the real and imagined.

Surrealist Slide ShowA current exhibition of Surrealist drawings reveals a large body of work that is as strange and confrontational as you would expect but also solidly grounded in fundamental principles of drawing.